Press Release

For Immediate Release
December 11, 2024
For more information contact:
Traci Cook
Children's Forum Staff Director
Phone: (301) 458-4082
Email: cot6@cdc.gov

Release of America's Children: Special Issue 2024: Maternal and Infant Health and Well-Being

This America's Children: Maternal and Infant Health and Well-Being, Special Issue, 2024 report reflects the collaborative effort of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (Forum) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to showcase fifteen indicators of maternal and infant health and well-being.

This year's report also includes a Data Topics section which discussed social determinants of health that may be associated with maternal and infant outcomes.

The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among developed nations. In 2019, the National Institutes of Health established the Implementing a Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) Initiative, in response to the nation's need to improve maternal health and to reduce maternal mortality.

In 2022, the maternal mortality rate for Black, non-Hispanic women (49.5 per 100,000 live births) was 30 points higher than the rate for White, non-Hispanic women (19 per 100,000 live births) and 33 points higher than the rate for Hispanic women (16.9 per 100,000).

The infant mortality rate decreased from 6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017 to 5 per 1,000 live births in 2021. In 2021, the infant mortality rate was highest for infants of Black, non-Hispanic women (11 per 1,000), followed by infants of Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic (8 per 1,000), and American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic (7 per 1,000) women. Rates were lowest for infants of Hispanic (5 per 1,000), White, non-Hispanic (4 per 1,000), and Asian, non-Hispanic (4 per 1,000) women.

The Special Issue also has an At-a-Glance summary table displaying the most recent data for all 41 regular America's Children indicators.

Other highlights from this year's report include:

• Breastfeeding: Overall, rates of exclusive breastfeeding through 6 months of age improved from 17.2 percent for children born in 2010 to 25.4 percent for children born in 2020, but disparities by race and Hispanic origin existed. For 2020 births, the highest rate was among Asian, non-Hispanic children (29.1 percent) and the lowest rate was among Black, non-Hispanic children (20.4 percent).
• Food Insecurity: The prevalence of food insecurity in single female-headed households with children has historically been higher than the prevalence for all households with children. In 2022, the prevalence of food insecurity for single female-headed households increased to 33 percent, the first increase since 2009.
• Maternal Vaccination: Forty-five percent of women ages 18–49 who were pregnant during the 2021–2022 influenza season received an influenza vaccination before or during their pregnancy. Influenza vaccination coverage during the 2021–2022 season was 47 percent among White, non-Hispanic women and 50 percent among Hispanic women.
• Maternal Postpartum Depression: In 2021, about 13 percent of women with a live birth self-reported experiencing postpartum depressive symptoms. During that same year, women age 19 and under experienced more than twice the rate of postpartum depression symptoms (about 20 percent) compared with women age 35 and over (about 10 percent).
• Preterm Births: The percentage of infants born preterm increased from 9.8 percent in 2016 to 10.4 percent in 2022. Throughout this period, Black, non-Hispanic women were the most likely to have a preterm birth.
• Smoking during Pregnancy: The percentage of women who smoked during pregnancy decreased from 7 percent in 2016 to 4 percent in 2022. In 2022, the percentage of women who smoked during pregnancy was highest for American Indican or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic women (11 percent), followed by White, non-Hispanic (5 percent), Black, non-Hispanic (3 percent), Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic (2 percent), Hispanic (1 percent), and Asian, non-Hispanic (0.3 percent) women.
• Non-fatal Violence toward Pregnant Women: From 2018 to 2022, the percentage of violent victimization reported to the police was higher among pregnant victims (58.1 percent) than non-pregnant victims (42.9 percent). Both estimates only include victims of crime who were females between the ages of 18 and 49.

This report is published by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics and is posted on www.childstats.gov.